Laura Smith's blog

Voting began this week for the 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards. Opening round voting ends on Sunday, 11/8, so if you’d like to cast your vote in the Romance category get over to Goodreads now. Semifinal Round voting is November 10-15 and Final Round Voting is November 17-23. You don't get to vote for the RITA award, so here is your opportunity to vote for your favorite romance book from 2015!

Last Thursday was the kick-off for Gulf Coast Reads 2015, which means people all across the Gulf Coast region are reading Ann Weisgarber’s The Promise, a historical fiction novel largely set in Galveston during the time leading up to the deadly 1900 hurricane. Here are some titles to feed your appetite for historical romance after finishing The Promise.

Go West Young Woman

Check out these romances that feature heroines traveling out west, choosing to become mail-order brides, shotgun weddings and marriages of convenience.

For those of you not familiar with these awards, the RITA “recognizes excellence in published romance novels and novellas”. The Golden Heart “recognizes excellence in unpublished romance manuscripts”. You can learn more about these awards, including past winners, from the RWA website.

I discovered Elizabeth Hunter, author of the Elemental Mysteries, through a discussion on the Facebook page of author Penny Reid. I have to admit that as a librarian with an undergraduate degree in history, the fact that the main character is a librarian who works in special collections is what initially drew my interest. Once I started reading and found out the book was set in Houston, what’s more, a fictionalized version of my undergraduate alma mate

Join us this Saturday, 6/20 at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Room for our Local Author Celebration. We'll begin the day with the "Memories to Memoirs" workshop presented by Dion McInnis, followed by a brief introduction to resources available at the library for authors.

First of all I apologize to any French speakers if I totally butchered that title - blame Google Translate! I felt that I needed to lead with French when discussing Laura Florand, one of my favorite romance authors.

Join us this Saturday, November 15th from 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM in the Community Room for our next SCORE small business seminar. Saturday's topic will be on financing a small business and is entitled "Coins Under the Couch Cushion".